


Plucked Feathers

by Drunk_fic_writer



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Damian Wayne is a Little Shit, Tim Drake is Suicidal, Tim Drake is depressed, Tim drake needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-08-24 03:11:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16631786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drunk_fic_writer/pseuds/Drunk_fic_writer
Summary: Timothy Jackson Drake has a long history of depression, so let's make a fic about it.





	1. Cassandra Cain

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own any of these characters.
> 
> If you have any requests for fics or characters who you want to see helping Tim then leave a comment request.

Cassandra Cain was supposed to be a trained killer. One of the most dangerous people alive and capable of dismantling the Batman himself. She was supposed to be a killer, but she wasn't. She was never a killer, and she never wants to be. The pure hatred she feels towards the concept of killing can rival that of any other vigilante she worked with. In her time working under Batman, she's learned more than she ever thought possible. She's learned ethics, detective work, science, and above all she's learned just how much freedom she has. Learning was the best part of her job. The worst part? Villains. And of all the villains she's fought, the Scarecrow has to be her least favorite.

Which is why she has to find Tim **now**.

Tim Drake is one of, if not her absolute best friend. He was a friend, a teacher, a teammate; he was everything. He'd stuck with her through everything. Through Batgirl, Black Bat, the League, and even now as Orphan. He'd tolerated every defiant act and annoying habit, and saw her as a human rather than the weapon that her father had made her. He had been whammied by Scarecrow earlier that evening. Barbara said that she'd heard him start choking back tears before disabling comms and running away. She hadn't been able to find him yet, but Cass has a pretty good idea of where he might be at the given time.

She swings down to the snowy rooftop in the unpopulated area of Gotham. The place where the bats don't watch. She remembered this rooftop from a couple years ago, where Tim had told her that he went there to hide. Sure enough, he was there, facing the ledge of the rooftop. Cass was stepping carefully as to not alert him to her presence. The girl made a fatal mistake in that moment.

She gasped.

Tim caught the small noise, and whipped around, gun in hand, to a terrified Cass. He lowered the gun from his head. He wavered for a second, dropping the loaded weapon in the snow.

"C-Cass, it's not-- I-I'm not-- I wasn't…" he trailed off. There wasn't an excuse he could pull out. She'd caught him in the middle of what would have been a clean suicide. "It doesn't matter. Not anymore."

"You can't… do… this." Cass' voice was shaky to put it lightly. She could hardly speak without threatening to choke on her own words. The very prospect that Tim would ever consider this.

"You can't stop me. I can tell you want to make a move," he said gesturing to Cass' tense stance. "You can knock me out or drag me away, but I'll just try again. You know that."

"I do…" said Cass closing her eyes and looking away. "But… can still try." Before Tim could react, Cass struck him, knocking him out cold.

She bundled him up in his own cape and picked him up. She held him as close to herself as she could. There was only one place- one person- she could bring him to.

Barbara.


	2. Barbara Gordon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cass brings Tim to Babs. Family and stuff, y'know how this shit goes.
> 
> Maybe I'll be worming in a bit of TimCass, because fuck it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is where the more 'alternate universe' aspects come in. In this story, Kon, Bart, Steph, Jack, Janet, and Dana all stayed dead.

Barbara was monitoring the city for any potential crimes in an attempt to pass time until Cass found Tim. She was worried sick about the kid. He had always been one of her favorites amongst the bats, and it had broken her heart to watch him go through so much. He'd lost Kon, Bart, Steph, his father, mother, step mother, and even Bruce for a time. Only one of the former had come back. He'd even lost Cass for a time, being subject to her murder spree and a victim of her rage when she led the League of Assassins. She'd turned back around, and repented for her crimes. She can't remember ever seeing him happier than when Cass had come back. Then again, Tim being happy was pretty few and far between these days, but at least he was still sane. Not that she could attribute much of that to any of the Batfam. It didn't really seem like they'd really been there for him (again, Cass being the exception), Barbara herself included. God, if only she'd been better.

*knock knock*

Babs' self-pity session was interrupted by a knocking on her headquarters' window. Unlocking the window, she greeted Cass with a wave and a smile. Cass, oddly enough, didn't mimic the action. Barbara got even more confused when she saw that she was carrying the limp body of Tim over her shoulder. Triplefold at the distressed vibe emitting from Cass.

"Cass…? What's wrong?"

"Need… talk…" Cass walked to the kitchen, signaling for Babs to follow. She did so, hesitantly as it be.

"Cass, what's up? Did something happen?" The young girl responded with one of her cryptic nods. "Well?"

"Found Tim… old Gotham…" Cass' voice sounded unstable, constantly breaking and wavering, "was scared… sad… was crying."

"It was probably the effects of the fear gas."

Cass shook her head. "Not… gas…" She started choking up. Speaking came harder than usual to her; something that shouldn't be understated. "Found… old Gotham… rooftop…" She was getting frustrated at how difficult all this was. She was going through a lot in her head. You can imagine why.

"Cass. Calm down, focus… tell me what happened." Babs gave her a reassuring glance. It worked to an extent.

"F-found… rooftop. Had… h-had a… g-gun." Cass wasn't really fighting the tears anymore. She was crying, there was no helping it. "G-gun to… head… his head. Tried… kill himself!"

Babs didn't fully process the information before she spoke. Or at least tried to. "Wh-"

"The fuck," came a slurred voice from the living room. Tim had awakened. "Oh. Right."

Babs had now processed. And she'd skipped denial and the other such stages right into her usual stone-cold acceptance of reality. That didn't stop her from being fuckin' terrified of the prospect that her family had gotten this… depressed. Suicidal. God, that sucks to think about.

"Yeah. Oh right."

"Tim!" Cass ran to him and tackled him back onto the couch after he'd stood up. "Never… again! Please…"

Tim couldn't make that promise, no matter how badly he wanted to. Hugging her close would have to suffice. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Cass. I'm sorry…"

"Tim," he leveled his gaze at Barbara who had that strange familial urgency that she'd put on whenever someone in the family had suffered. He could never really pin down the look. He wasn't great with non-verbal expression. "We should talk."

"Yeah. We should." He managed to coax Cass off with the promise of more hugs later. Babs and Tim walked to the kitchen and stood in silence for a moment. Tim detatched his cape and sat in one of her dining chair.

"So… Cass told you?"

"Yeah, she did…" she didn't really want to confront it, but she didn't avoid her problems. "Did you… did you really try to kill yourself?"

"…" The silence could've killed her. It was horrible to see Tim so broken. Beaten. Completely and utterly crushed. "Yeah… I did."

"Why? I understand that you've lost so much Tim, but… but why?"

"Why?" He leveled his eyes to Barbara's. "Because I'm tired, Babs. Tired of losing, and failing, and living, and watching. Watching crimes I can't stop. Watching lives I can't save. Watching my friends and family die!" He was standing now, hands behind his head in a way that conveys nothing but pure stress. "I'm just so goddamn tired of it all, Babs. All of it."

"You can retire y'know," she said, feigning hope. "Settle down somewhere pleasent. Musicals have taught me that Santa Fe's always the go-to for weary souls."

He rasped out what was supposed to be a chuckle. It came out more as a choke. "As nice as finding a nice quiet cabin and settling with someone would be," he trailed off, thinking of something Babs would have absolutely no idea about, "it's impossible for people like us. Like me, more specifically."

"What do you mea-"

"Don't play dumb, Babs. You know full well what I mean. I don't have anything but this. I lost everyone that made me whole. Robin became my life. That was taken away too. Becoming CEO of Wayne Enterprises gave me purpose for a bit, but Bruce took it back up after his retrieval from the timestream. This…" he gestured to his costume and weaponry, "is the closest thing to a life I can ever live now."

She didn't have a rebuttal ready. He was practically right. There weren't many options for him, and past heroed who've tried to escape the life have always payed for it. She shifted gears. "Did you have a note?" He nods and grabs a slip of paper from his utility belt.

'Hello, to those hearing or reading this,

I'm sorry. I really, truly am. I tried, for the longest time, to be happy, but it never worked. Not much worked to fill the voids left by the things that have happened to me. And a lot has happened. Don't feel bad though. I was a lost cause. I mean, if you can see the Anti-Life equation and come out exactly the same, I think you're as good as dead already. But I want you all to know, it was no one's fault but mine. Goodbye. I love all of you.

(PS, there's a detailed will hidden under a loose floorboard in the Bird's Nest. It's got everything I haven't said on it.)

Sincerely, Tim Drake'

Babs sniffled and wiped any tears off her face. "Pretty cliché," she attempted to joke.

"Yeah, I saved all the emotional bits for the will and testament, I suppose." Another pause. "What're you gonna do?"

"Right now, resign you to a fate of aggressive cuddling from Cassandra. Maybe call some people that can help."

"Wait," he cut her short with a hand in her face, "how many people are you gonna tell?"

"As many as I need."

"They'll… they'll know I'm weak."

"No," she gently placed her hand over his, "they'll **know** you need help. Now go," she pointed to the living room, "cuddle to her hearts content."

Tim managed a real chuckle and shuffled to the living room to resume his therapeutic hugging session. Barbara wheeled over to the computer, typing some things and making sure the servers were private to ensure that this conversation be self-contained.

"Hello," responded a feminine voice from the other end of the line.

"Dinah, I need your help."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… this was a couple months overdo.

**Author's Note:**

> I suck, but this is fun.


End file.
